<p>Hello. I am doing research on the use of slang in Ivy League schools, and wanted to know if anyone could help me out with what slang is used at Columbia. I realize that this forum is primarily used for answering questions of potential and incoming students, but I have been unable to find another forum with a sizable community of Columbia students, so I hope there are people here who would be able to help me. I am interested in what slang terms are used, their meaning, examples of how they are used, what time periods they were used in, etc. Any kind of information you can provide would be helpful.</p>
<p>haha...very strange question but I guess I'll start this off cause I find it amusing...</p>
<p>cava (verb): to be taken to the hospital by the on campus ambulance service usually for severe inebriation. Comes from the ambulance corps old name (Columbia University Volunteer Ambulance). It is now officially called Columbia University EMS. Example: Joe got really hammered last night and got cava'd.</p>
<p>Excellent thread idea.</p>
<p>minor correction: CAVA - Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance.</p>
<p>"barn-dar" - similar to gaydar. A Columbia male's supernatural ability to perceive when a new girl he has just met is a student of Barnard College rather than Columbia.</p>
<p>"the But" - shorthand for Butler Library. "just pulled an all-nighter in The But".</p>
<p>"PrezBo" - nickname for Columbia University President Lee Bollinger. Nickname originated with Varsity Show 2003, as PrezBo was a main character. Played by Jordan, I think, who went on to be a cast member of Lion King if i'm not mistaken.</p>
<p>"downtown" - the area of manhattan south of 110th street. okay, so we're a little parochial :)</p>
<p>To Culpa a class:</p>
<p>CULPA</a> - Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability is an anonymous website, where <em>students</em> write about professors and classes, and then <em>students</em> agree or disagree with reviews. The website is used to gain insight into classes and profs and forms a big part of which classes students register for.</p>
<p>example:
"why would I do this stats class?"
"the prof is really engaging and apparently hott, I culpa'd it don't worry"</p>
<p>I've never heard of "The But" --- funny.</p>
<p>"Barnyard" -- derogatory nickname for Barnard. e.g., "she's a Barnyard girl" or "she goes to Barnyard"</p>
<p>"Low Library" -- the administration / bureaucracy / red tape. the term comes from the fact that the senior central administration has offices in Low Library. e.g., "we don't have any test tubes in the lab because Low Library is a pain in the butt"</p>
<p>I'll probably think of more later. This is the first original thread I've seen here in a while; could be fun.</p>
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minor correction: CAVA - Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance.
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<p>oops, good catch denz</p>
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"Low Library" -- the administration / bureaucracy / red tape.
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<p>never heard this one at all</p>
<p>This one hasn't caught on yet, but I heard it, and believe it should catch on:</p>
<p>When i asked a friend whom he supported for the November election, he said he had electile dysfunction - failing to get turned on by any of the candidates.</p>
<p>Never heard of the low library one either.</p>
<p>Low Library is pretty common parlance when you deal with the central administration regularly. It's metonymy!</p>
<p>The Toaster - Jerome Greene Hall (Law School)</p>
<p>The Brick - Mudd Hall (SEAS)</p>
<p>Another:</p>
<p>"Exclusion Suite" -- It's a suite in EC with 3 singles and a double. You're not exclusive if you live in one. And you're not excluded from society if you do so. It's just a funny name that results from the housing lotter.</p>
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This one hasn't caught on yet, but I heard it, and believe it should catch on:</p>
<p>When i asked a friend whom he supported for the November election, he said he had electile dysfunction - failing to get turned on by any of the candidates.
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<p>This has nothing to do with Columbia, so it's not appropriate on this thread.</p>
<p>My daughter lives at Plimpton, (Barnard housing, but some Columbia students also live there) and just up the street is Hamilton Deli, which she refers to as "Ham-Del".</p>
<p>My husband, being ever the funny guy, began referring to the Hartley Pharmacy just up Amsterdam from "Ham-Del" as "Har-Phar".</p>
<p>Umm, probably not what you are looking for, eh? :)</p>
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My daughter lives at Plimpton, (Barnard housing, but some Columbia students also live there) and just up the street is Hamilton Deli, which she refers to as "Ham-Del".
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<p>Oh my. This is exactly the sort of Barnard insecurity complex that I've mentioned numerous times, as it appears that you subconsciously feel it necessary make sure everyone equates Barnard with Columbia.</p>
<p>I can't imagine why else one would need to mention in a thread like this that "some Columbia students also live" in your daughter's Barnard dorm. Some Columbia students live in a lot of the Barnard dorms, and some Barnard students live in a lot of the Columbia dorms. Nobody at Columbia says that they "live in East Campus (Columbia housing, but some Barnard students also live there.)" Nobody does. Why would you not post: "My daughter lives at Plimpton, (Barnard housing) and just up the street is Hamilton Deli, which she refers to as "Ham-Del""?</p>
<p>Moreover, your post is an attempt to demonstrate that Barnard is a part of Columbia by linking Barnard to a Columbia institution like Hamilton Deli. There are like 8 Columbia dorms that are closer to Hami's -- for which a Plimpton resident would need to walk 4-5 blocks and under a bridge to reach.</p>
<p>And it the place has any nickname, it's Hami's and not "Ham-Del."</p>
<p>no, the place is definitely HamDel. Seriously, everyone calls it HamDel. You're out of date on that one. And people go there no matter where on campus they live, because it's open 24 hours and has a good deli and snacks selection.</p>
<p>And I think she was explaining why she was commenting on columbia slang despite her daughter, technically speaking, not attending one of the Columbia undergraduate schools. Jeez, chill out, get off attack mode. I'm normally one to go after over-defensiveness on here too, and that just wasn't a case of it. Call off the dogs, C02.</p>
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And I think she was explaining why she was commenting on columbia slang despite her daughter, technically speaking, not attending one of the Columbia undergraduate schools.
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<p>Exactly, Denzera. Good grief!</p>
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And I think she was explaining why she was commenting on columbia slang despite her daughter, technically speaking, not attending one of the Columbia undergraduate schools.
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<p>I still don't see why, for her to make her point, it's necessary to establish that Columbia students live in her daughter's Barnard dorm. Is she suggesting that it's the specific fact that her daughter lives in a dorm where Columbia students also live -- and not her attendance at Barnard -- that makes her able to comment on Columbia slang? I don't think so.</p>
<p>I posted my original comment on this thread because:</p>
<p>a) as a Barnard student, my d does participate in the Columbia University community (classes, ec's, dining, etc), and of course is exposed to/uses "slang" terms about campus life;
b) my husband is pretty much a corny goofball when it comes to making up jokes and such, so I thought I would share one of his latest in regards to the "Ham-Dell" thing;
c) I did go a bit out of my way to point out that my daughter is a Barnard student because I figured Co2002 would jump on my case if I failed to do so, accusing me of trying to pass her off as a CC student. And I said CC students live in Plimpton simply because it's a fact...</p>
<p>I do not understand why this is a big deal to Co2002 one way or another, but somehow I am not surprised.</p>
<p>"Is she suggesting that it's the specific fact that her daughter lives in a dorm where Columbia students also live -- and not her attendance at Barnard -- that makes her able to comment on Columbia slang?"</p>
<p>missing the forest for the trees yet again.</p>
<p>Crack Del -The deli on 109.</p>
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by linking Barnard to a Columbia institution like Hamilton Deli
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<p>wow that is really going way too far there....HamDel is not a "columbia institution".....this is as absurd as some dumbass law school student complaining in a comment on bwog about the increased number of undergrads at HamDel</p>
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no, the place is definitely HamDel. Seriously, everyone calls it HamDel.
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<p>i second that</p>
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Crack Del -The deli on 109.
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<p>hahahaha...i had their spicy special and it was definitely overhyped ...not to mention small!</p>
<p>Still, tasty for 4 bucks and when you've got the drunchies.</p>